Pneumatic stacker.



Patented Aug. 5, |902.

J. H. ELWARD.

PNEUMATIC STACKER.

(Application led Dec. 9, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

Patented Aug'. 5, |902. J. H. ELWARD.

PNEUMTIC STAGKER.

(Application med Dec. 9, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

No Modl.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. ELWAED, oF PRETTY PRAIRIE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOE To THE IN- DIANAMANUFACTURING COMPANY, oF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, A lCORPORATION OF WESTVIRGINIA.

PNEUMATIC STACKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,037, dated August5, 1902.

Original application filed January 5, 1893. Serial No. 457,328. Dividedand this application filed December 9,1901. Serial No. 85,253. (Nomodel.)

T0 all whom, t Ina/ y concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN H. ELWAED, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pretty Prairie, in the county of Reno and State of Kansas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPneumaticStackerslot' which the'following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a side elevation of a stacking mechanism embodying myimprovements. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View through aportion of the apparatus. Fig. 3 is a similar View showing thedelivery-duct inclined at a different angle to its hood or supplysection. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view. Figs. 5 to 16are detail views.

In the drawings I have shown a portion of In order to provide a strongand durable machine, I provide for the elevator or stacker asupporting-frame and transporting-wheels,

which are separate from and independent of..

the frame and the Wheels which carry the parts of the thresher proper. AA indicate the sills and cross-girths of such a frame, it being mountedupon front and rear wheels d af., Uprights A2 of suitable number aresecured to the bottom frame A A', and at the top they carry a horizontalframework having the lon,- gitudinal parts A3 and the cross-bars A4:lThe frame and wheels constitute a vehicle separate from the tliresherand which vehicle can be hitched to the engine sometimes employed fortransporting, or horses can be employed, as desired. l

rlghe elevator or stacker comprises as its essential elements an initialreceptacle, an airblast mechanism, and the tubular delivery chute orduct.

The thresher at B has an exit at b forthe straw and one at b' for thechad and fine foreign materials Which are blown out from the.winnowing-shoe. To receive the said chai and the fine material from thethresher-fan, I employ a spout, chute, ordnet at C, which is preferablyof larger cross dimensions at the mouth c than it is at points remotetherefrom, so as to be adapted to register with the entire opening inthe thresher at the rear of the winnowing-shoe and also to permit thestrawcarrier or beater-,apron at b2 to discharge the straw properly intothe initial receptacle of the stacking mechanism. At d there is anopening or mouth, which can be brought close to the end of the saidcarrier b2. Thus both the straw and the chaff or fine stuft can bethoroughly collected from the thresher, passages for each of them beingprovided in which they travel on substantially the lines along which Ythey normally escape from the thresher.

At the bottom and the front end of the stacker-vehicle I place the fan Eand the fancasing e, there beinga throat at e', through which the jetsof wind pass upward through the chute C, this throat being below theline at which the chaff escapes from the threshershoe. The currents ofair are of such strength as to propel the chad upward, and when theyreach the straw which has been introduced through the orifice at d theyalso force it, together with the chaff, to a considerable distance. riedupward and backward by the wind to the places where it is desired todeposit it, I combine with the parts above described an adjustablemechanism for guiding the straw and the air-currents, asv follows:

The initial receptacle C terminates in a circular portion at d. Aroundthe edge of this part there is mounted a ring F, it beingformed with thevertical part f and a horizontal flange f', the horizontal part f havinga series of gear-teeth f2 thereon. The horizontal flange f is placedbetween1 antifriction-rolls f3 f4, some below it and someabove. To the.ring F, above described, there is secured a hood G, preferably formedof sheet-iron, having the rounded front part g and thebackwardlyextending walls g g2. In this hood is inserted the lower endof the second section H ofthe To direct the material which is carltubular chute or spout. It is formed with a top wall 7L, side walls 7L',and the bottom h2. At its inner or lower end it is fitted in thehood-section G and preferably so connected and arranged in relation tothe hood that it is capable of a limited inward and outward movement, ifnecessary, to allow for a species of flexibility. v

U represents a flexible canvas or leather joining device, the ends ofwhich are fastened to the hood and to the spout-section H. By theemployment of such a flexible coupling device I avoid the necessity ofconstructing the metallic parts in the manner commonly followed, so asto provide an air-tight joint between the metallic surfaces. It will beseen that the lower or inner end of the section H can be leftsufficiently loose in the hood to permit the desired movement of itsdelivery end, and at the same time the flexible cover U insures that theair shall escape through the chute, and as there is no possibility forthe air to escape around the inner edges of the chute the straw will notbe forced around said inner edges, but through the center of said tubeor chute. As shown in the drawings and hereinbefore stated,the spout orduct section H is therefore connected to the hood Gr by a iiexible jointand in such manner as to be adjustable in relation thereto to vary theinclination of the delivery duct, and means are provided for limitingthe outward movement of said section H relative to the hood G.

The flexible connection U is preferably made in the form shown-that is,it consists simply of a,y piece of' suitable material arranged in aseries of accordion-like folds and having its ends securely fastened tothe flanges g4 7a4 on the hood G and duct-section H, respectively. Bythis construction said flexible connection is adapted to be contracted lor expanded and permits free longitudinal movement of the duct-section Hrelative to the hood G when the angle of inclination of saidduct-section is varied-that is, the inner end of the section H and theflange h4 thereon are constantly changing their positions relative totheouter end of the hood during adjustment of said duct-section, and byhaving such a iiexible connection as that herein illustrated anddescribed between these parts I provide for maintaining an air-tightjoint between said parts, the cover U expanding longitudinally orcontracting,according as the flange h4 approaches or moves from the endof the hood G. Thus when the said chute is adjusted to the positionindicated in Fig. 3 the portion of the flexible connection adjacent tothe under side of the delivery-duct is expanded or extended'to itsfullest extent andthe portion adjacent to the top surface of said ductis contracted, while when the parts are in the relative positionsillustrated in Fig. l the said flexible connection is of substantiallythe same length at all points around the duct. The flexible cover U actsas a stop; but in the construction shown I have illustrated asupplemental stop consisting of a series of coiled springs V. Thesesprings are arranged outside of the cover U and have their ends attachedto the flange g4 at the rear end of the hood-section and the flange h4on the duct-section H, to which the cover or flexible connecting deviceU is also attached.r The section H can, by reason of its flexibleconnection with the hood Gr, be readily adjusted vertically to any ofthe several positions ordinarily required.

I indicates a supplemental spout-section fitted to the outer end of thesection H and adapted to be moved out or inin relation thereto.Preferably the two sections H I are telescopically connected, so thatthe part I can be drawn down over the part H to make the whole apparatuscompact when it is being transported. The mechanism shown for eectingthis longitudinal movement of the section I Vcomprises a rack-bar K,secured to it, and the pinion K', mounted in bearings at any suitablepoint, as at 7c, on the part H or on the hood. The end of the outersection or part I is provided with an adjustable guide or deflector J,adapted to deiiecttherstraw in any line or path desired. To adjust this,use is made of a bar J', extending back to points where it will beaccessible and having combined with it suitable means for locking it inany desired position, such as a rack or toothed part at J3, with a stopor lug at J4 engaging with the teeth on the part J3. The defiector ispreferably situated at a distance from the end of the spout I and iscarried by bearers j, to which it is pivoted.

To raise and lower the sections H and I, use is made of ropes or cordsL. They are secured at their outer ends to the spout-section Iand thenextend up over sheaves Zand down to drums or spools m on a winding-shaftM, which is situated at a suitable point, preferably being mounted onthe support for the hood G, and is provided with cranks at m for windingit and pawls 'm3 for locking it. The sheaves or pulleys l are mounted inthe upper ends of braces N. These are formed of two or more sections nn', so connected as to provide for extension, and each brace as a wholeis pivoted at 'n2 to the aforesaid ring. To hold each brace N at the'desired angle of inclination to the plane of rotation, I use bars O,which are pivotally connected to the ring F and are connected to thebrace N by means of a nut O anda screw-rod O2, mounted in bearings at o'o'2 on the part n, the nut O having an extension 03, to which the.supporting-` linlr'O is pivoted. The screw O2 can be rotated, as byapplying a wrench at o4, and the nut can be thereby moved up or down,a-s odesired. The extension longitudinally of the braces N can beaccomplished by the devices shown, as follows: The parts n n overlap,the part u being preferably slotted and the part n being tongued to fitthe slot. Metallic loops p can be placed around the overlappingpartsvIIO to hold them firmly with relation to each other and yet allowlongitudinal movement. As shown, the part n is moved upward by a rope Q,which has its lower end fastened to the lower end of the tongue n andpasses thence upward to the sheave q' on the loop p and thence down to awinding-wheel Q', mounted on the 'part fn and having a crank q2 and alocking-ratchet g3.

As it is desirable to deposit the strawT not only at points in thevertical central longitudinal plane of the machine, but also at pointsin planes at the sides thereof in order to distribute the stackv overthe ground area as large as possible, and is also desirable toconstantly change the point of deposit, I combine with the mechanismabove described means for automatically oscillating the stacker spout orchute. y

R is a pinion meshing with the above-described teeth f2 on ring F, itbeing carried by shaft R', mounted in a bearing at r, secured to the topframe-bar A3. This shaft has also two beveled wheels S S', each adaptedto engage with a bevel-pinion S2, mounted on a vertical shaft s, saidshaft having a belt-wheel s', driven bya belt S3, extending to anysuitable pulley on the thresher. The wheels S S' are loose from theshaft R and are continuously rotated in opposite directions. T is aclutch feathered to the shaft and adapted to engage said wheelsalternately with the shaft. Said clutch is automatically shifted asfollows:

T' is a bell-lever pivoted at t.

T2 is a vibrating lever having a weight T3 to carry it past its centerand temporarily hold it. This lever is preferably pivoted so as tovibrate in a plane to be tangent to the circle of rotation of the ringF. Said ring or some part rotating therewith is provided with trip-pinst3 t4, and lever T2 or part connected therewith, as a lever T5, lies inthe path of their rotation. As shown, the levers T2 and T are connectedby a link T4. When the pin t3 reaches lever T5, it throws it and alsolever T2 over, so as to reverse the clutch, and thereupon the shaft R'is reversed and also the ring F. This movement of the latter continuesuntil the pin t reaches lever T5, whereupon the latter is thrown back,and shaft R and ring F are again reversed. In this way the stacker-chutecan be automatically oscillated, so that the straw can be delivered fromits outer end over a large area; butI do not wish the other features ofthe invention to be limited to this or any particular mechanism foreffecting such lateral movement of the spout.

The manner of using the machine above described will be readilyunderstood. After the thresher B has been properly placed thestacker-vehicle is brought into the proper position and so adjusted thatthe openings behind the thresher-shoe shall register with the entranceto the chad-receiver and so that the straw-exit at b shall register withthe entranceorifice for the straw at d in the stacker. The belt S3 isconnected, (if the lateral movement of the spoutis to be caused bypower,) the spout-section I is extended to the desired point, the properangle of inclination for braces N is provided by suitably adjusting thenuts at O', the chute-sections II and I are by means of the ropes Lplaced at the proper inclination, and the fan E is connected by a beltto the pulley which drives it. After the thresher and separator havebeen set in motion and the straw and chaff begin to be delivered theyare immediately caught up by the blast of wind from the fan E and carried through the parts G, H, andIand thrown to the desired point. Asthe stack becomes higher the positions of the parts H, I, and .I arevaried by the adjusting devices at M, O',

Aand Q.

I do not in this application claim the pe-` culiar construction of thesections II and I and their relation to each other and. to thehood-section G'or the means for adjusting such sections, nor do I hereinclaim the construction and arrangement of parts by which the directionof the material delivered by the stacker duct or spout is controlled,such matters being claimed in my earlier application, Serial No.457,328, filed January 5, 1893, of which the present application is adivision.

What I claim isl. In a pneumatic stacker, the combination with ahorizontally-rotary hood, and a vertically-adj ustable delivery tube orchute, of the longitudinally extensible flexible joint sea cured to thehood to move horizontally there with and also secured to the chute orspout to move vertically therewith, substantially as set forth.

2. The eombination,in a pneumatic stacker, of a horizontally-rotaryhood, an air chute or spout having its inner end telescopicallyconnected with said hood, and its outer end vertically adjustable, andthe longitudinally-extensible,-airtight, iexible cover surrounding theadjacent ends of and rigidly secured to both said hood and chute,substantially as set forth.

' 8. In a pneumatic stacker, the combination of a hood, a delivery-ducthaving a verticallyadjustable outer end and having its inner end movablyconnected to the hood, a support for the outer end of the delivery-ductconnected with the main frame, a rotary base for the aforesaid parts,and a flexible, extensible cover connected to the hood and to thedelivery-duct, substantially as set forth.

4E. In a pneumatic stacker, the combination of a hood, a delivery-duct,an adjustable support for the outer end of said delivery-duct, means foradjusting said support to vary the elevation of the discharge end ofsaid chute, a flexible joint connecting the said deliveryduct and thehood and extensible longitudinally of the said delivery-duct, and ahorizontally-rotary base for all of the said parts, substantially as setforth.

IIO

5. The combinatiomina pneumatic stacker, I of the hood and chute, andsprings connectof the lower or inner chute or hood, the chute ing thehood and chute, substantially as set or trunk movably connected withsaid hood, forth. v

and the springs arranged to bear upward and In testimony whereof I afxmy Signature 5 outward against the outer chute, substanin presence oftwo Witnesses.

tialiy as set forth. Y T

6. In a pneumatic stacker, the combination JOIE H' ELVARD with the lowersection or hood, and the chute Vitnesses:

or spout communicating therewith, of a Hex- JOHN P. O. GRABER, ro ibiecover surrounding the adjacent sections H. B. HAMLIN.

